The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus of sorting sheets or the like for reading destination codes in bar codes, for example, provided on paper sheets or the like, such as postal matter, and classifying the thrown-in sheets or the like according to destination codes, and more particularly to a method and an apparatus of sorting sheets or the like, which are capable of forming a delivery route of a postal matter by sequencing the postal matter in the order of delivery according to destinations.
A system for sorting sheets or the like for delivery disclosed in JP-A-63-287584 is one of the apparatuses for sequencing the thrown-in sheets or the like in the order specified by destination codes.
This conventional technique inputs delivery destinations of sheets or the like and sorts them into destination districts according to the inputted delivery destinations. In this sorting process, the destinations and the numbers of sheets or the like are stored in memory sorted into the destination districts. Then, the destinations are sequenced or rearranged in the order of delivery, and again stored in memory. Subsequently, the sheets sorted into the destination districts are taken out once, and sent to the supply means and the delivery destinations are read again, and by collating with the destinations arranged in the order of delivery in the memory, the sheets are sorted in the order of delivery.
In the above-mentioned prior art, when forming a delivery route, it is necessary to take out the sheets or the like such as mails classified once in the sorter, and bring them back to the supply means without changing their order. To this end, the sorted sheets or the like are transported from the sorter to the supply means. In this method, in order to supply the sheets sorted and accumulated in the sorter back to the supply means, the sheets need to be moved for three to six meters from the sorter to the supply means.
Supposing that the number of pieces of mail for a mailman is about 1000, the weight of that mail amounts to about 10 kg in total, and therefore it is necessary to provide a mail basket in the vicinity of the sorter, for example, so that the mail may be placed into the basket so as not to disrupt their order, moves while in the basket to the vicinity of the supply means, and then supplied sequentially. This work is troublesome, and what is worse, if any mistake is made about the order of the mail when putting it in and taking it out of the basket, a delivery route cannot be formed correctly.